Women’s basketball head coach Nancy Fahey talks with the team during a timeout against George Fox. The No. 6 Bears advanced to the national semifinals in Bloomington, Ill., against top-ranked Amherst College with a 59-52 win over the No. 5 Bruins. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The words of senior co-captain Zoë Unruh resonated throughout the Washington University Field House after the No. 6 Washington University women’s basketball team defeated defending-champion George Fox University 59-52.

With the win on Saturday, the Bears earned a trip to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament in Bloomington, Ill.

The No. 5 Bruins defeated the No. 6 Bears in the NCAA championship game last season, but the Red and Green won at home for their ticket to the national semifinals.

Off an inbound pass, junior guard Alex Hoover put the first points on the board with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. The Bears added several more shots and jumped to a 9-0 lead.

But George Fox fought back. After two consecutive Wash. U. fouls, the Bruins tied the game with 12:41 remaining in the half and then grabbed a two-point lead.

Needing to break the George Fox three-two zone, Wash. U. head coach Nancy Fahey inserted Claire Schaeperkoetter into the game. The sophomore ignited the Bears with three quick three-pointers and kept the team in the game, though the Bruins took a 27-24 lead into halftime.

“We knew we were going against the zone defense, and a lot of times you’ve got to spread out the zone by hitting outside shots,” Schaeperkoetter said. “I know that’s one of my roles when I go in, so I was just trying to be ready and looking for my open shot.”

At the opening of the second half, the Bears began to find seams in their opponent’s zone defense.

“There was a point where I went with all shooters on the outside. I felt like they were cheating off of people,” Fahey said. “I think it just separated them a little bit, made them play a little more extended—that was my intent.”

With 13 minutes left in regulation, on George Fox’s possession, the Bruins committed a turnover, and a layup by senior Janice Evans gave Wash. U. a lead it never relinquished.

“It’s tough against a zone if you’re not hitting your shots…What we wanted to do in the second half was just relax a little bit and hope [our] shots start falling,” Unruh said. “Once they did, we could build momentum, and we were kind of able to take it from there.”

George Fox narrowed the Bears’ lead to two after free throws from freshman Hannah Munger, but the Bears responded with a three-pointer from Unruh and continued to pull away to a game-high lead of 11.

“We were trying not to focus too much on [Munger] because we knew they had some outside threats as well,” Unruh said.”Our idea was that they might get some inside points, but we just wanted to make sure we contained the dribble drive.”

The Bears held the Bruins to 33.9 percent shooting for the game, and capitalized on points off the bench with 22 for the game. Schaeperkoetter finished with a career- and team-high 16 points, while Unruh and Evans added 13 in the win.

Munger led all scorers with 17 points, but the Bruins shot under 30 percent from the floor in the second half and just 1 of 10 from three-point range, allowing Wash. U. to pull away.

Although the games were held during spring break, the Bears drew a crowd of nearly 500.

“Despite it being spring break, I think we had more fans in the stand than we’ve had at our games when there have been students on campus,” Unruh said. “You’ve got to give it to [the fans]; they were a great crowd, very loud, very supportive.”

The Bears advance to face No. 1 Amherst (31-0) at 5 p.m. on Friday. The undefeated Lord Jeff’s average 76 points per game.

“It’s never easy in March,” Unruh said. “I think we’ve just got to continue playing our defense…I think our shots will be there. It’s really on the defensive end where we’ll be able to make a statement.”

The game will be a rematch of last season’s NCAA semifinal, which the Bears won 65-49. No. 4 Hope College (31-1) will meet the University of Rochester (23-6) in the other semifinal.

“We just had to play the defending national champion… as I told these kids, possession by possession,” Fahey said. “We know this team, we played them last year. I’m sure they’re feeling the same way we felt against George Fox, because we knocked them out.”

The Bears are guaranteed to play two games this weekend. If the Bears fall to the Lord Jeffs on Friday, the third-place game is at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The fan bus is scheduled to depart at noon on Friday from the Clocktower. Students interested in making the trip should leave a $20 deposit at the Office of Residential Life in Nemerov House by noon on Thursday. The money will be returned once students board the bus.

Washington University is paying for the transportation, housing and tickets to the game for students who participate. Students who are driving themselves can also get tickets and accommodations through Wash. U. by contacting Pat Nichols in the Office of Residential Life at 314-935-5050.

Those who are concerned about missing Relay For Life need not worry. According to Erin Blecha, coordinator of marketing and promotions, and external relations, the latest the bus would return is at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening. Relay For Life kicks off at 6 p.m. and the scheduled return time assumes the Lady Bears play in the national championship game at 2 p.m.

Relay For Life members see no problem with participants arriving late on Saturday. “We welcome, and encourage, anyone to attend at any time,” senior Jeffrey Knisley, co-chair of the Relay Steering Committee, wrote in an e-mail. According to Knisley, to receive their wristbands, participants will just need to register at the gate when they return. Visitors can also come at any time after paying the $10 entrance fee.

In recent years, Wash. U. has organized fan buses for the Division III women’s soccer championships in San Antonio, Texas, in 2009; for the Division III men’s basketball championships in Salem, Va., in 2008 and 2009; and the Division III women’s basketball championships in Holland, Mich., in 2009.

This contest was no different.

The No. 1 Bears could not overcome a seven-point deficit with 3:11 left in the game, losing 75-70 to Illinois Wesleyan University and ending the team’s run at a third straight national championship.

“We’ve won a lot of close games in our four years at Wash. U.,” senior co-captain Cameron Smith said, “and we have found a lot of different ways to make things happen throughout games, especially at the end of games: getting stops here, making big buckets there. This was just a game where we couldn’t make big plays happen at the end of the game. That was the only difference.”

Senior co-captain Aaron Thompson recorded 20 points in the game, but was limited in the game with foul trouble. Junior Spencer Gay had 14 points and 13 rebounds, but the Titans’ Sean Johnson scored 24 points.

A 7-0 run gave the Titans a 17-10 lead with 12:30 left in the first half. Turnovers and missed shots plagued the Bears, 2 of 9 from beyond the three-point arc in the period.

Thompson and graduate student Sean Wallis, a co-captain, were forced to sit through most of the first half because of foul trouble. The two combined for just four points and 18 minutes in the period.

With the Bears’ two leading scorers out of the game, the Titans maintained their lead.

“When you have two All-Americans on your team, and they’re both on the bench, it pretty much limits you, particularly when the team is used to counting on their scoring all year long and they’re not out there to give it to you,” Edwards said. “To me, that was the biggest problem we had.”

A layup with 1:18 left in the half gave the Titans an eight-point lead, its largest of the half, but the Red and Green managed to cut it just to three by halftime.

Thompson hit a three-pointer, his first of the night, only six seconds into the second period to tie the game. Gay gave the Bears the lead on the following possession, but it lasted only 23 seconds and would be the Bears’ only lead for the rest of the game.

“We were definitely capable of playing better than we did, but, at the same time, I’m not going to fault our kids,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “We got beaten by a team that was better than us that night. Whether they’re better than us overall, I don’t know, but they were that night.”

Sophomore Jordan Zimmer’s layup gave Illinois Wesleyan a 48-39 advantage with 14:18 left in the game. Aaron Thompson got the Red and Green within just one point at the 1:46 mark, but the Bears could not complete the comeback.

“It just seemed to me that we couldn’t get over the hump, couldn’t get the big stop that we needed when we needed it, and they just made some plays,” Smith said.

With the Titans up by just three with 15 seconds left, Doug Sexauer corralled an offensive rebound off a missed free throw. After he was fouled, his two free throws put the game out of reach.

“[The win] was definitely in our grasp,” Gay said. “The last play, there was a loose rebound, and we definitely had a chance, but it slipped out of our fingers.”

The loss snapped the Bears’ 14-game NCAA tournament win streak, and ended the careers of the winningest class in school history.

“We would be demeaning to the careers of our seniors and Sean [Wallis] if we focused upon just this one game,” Edwards said. “Obviously, in the locker room everybody was down, but that’s the emotion of sports. Once that wears off, and you look back at your accomplishments and what these guys have done together, you’ve got to feel good about that.”

“I’m sure in five years, when I look back at my career at Wash. U., I’m not going to remember this game, but right now it’s hard to think of much else, honestly, because you live for the game that you’re playing, not for your past successes,” Smith said. “Each game is the most important game you’ve ever played, so it hurts, but we’ll be all right.”

“It’s definitely a little different than the feeling that we came out of here with last year, but any team that makes it into the NCAA tournament is a good team,” senior co-captain Aaron Thompson.

The Bears will host the first and second rounds of the tournament, opening against Westminster (MO) College. Westminster (20-7,13-3 SLIAC) earned the automatic bid from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The two teams met in a scrimmage earlier this season.

“The closest game we had last year was the first game, so really, [placement] is immaterial.” head coach Mark Edwards said. “Every team that is in the tournament is deserving of being in the tournament, and every team that is in the tournament is coming to win it.”

If Wash. U. gets past the Blue Jays, it could potentially face Illinois Wesleyan University in the second round. The Bears defeated the Titans 76-71 in a heated contest on Nov. 22nd. The other potential opponent is No. 25 Central College (Iowa).

“We’ve had so much development since we’ve played those guys…so I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” senior co-captain Cameron Smith said.

Also in the pod (the division of 16 teams) are No. 4 St. Thomas University, No. 8 University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, and No. 15 University of Texas-Dallas.

“It’s nice to play at home, but after that, it doesn’t really matter who we play, because we’re going to have to beat them anyway,” Smith said.

Tip-off against Westminster will take place on Friday, March 5th, at 8 p.m..

“Westminster is a good team,” Thompson said. “We’ve really just got to be ready to go and on top of our game and get things clicking early.”

The full men’s bracket can be downloaded online.

Women’s Basketball Bracket Released

The No. 6 women’s basketball (23-2, 12-1 UAA) faces Maryville (TN) in the NCAA first round.  Maryville has a 22-5 record heading into the tournament.

The first and second rounds will be hosted by No. 16 Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. Thomas More plays against Fontbonne University in the first round.

The full women’s bracket can be downloaded online.

Senior Janice Evans passes the ball around a defender. Evans will be honored on Friday at Senior Night before the game. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The No. 6 Washington University women’s basketball team is on top of the University Athletic Association conference with a 20-2 record (10-1 UAA), and the team’s seniors have provided veteran leadership that has played a huge part in the team’s success. One of these seniors, forward and co-captain Janice Evans, is coming off of a strong effort against New York University in which she scored 14 points and helped the Bears pull away in the second half. With the team’s seniors to be honored before Friday’s game for Senior Night, Evans has been named Student Life’s Female Athlete of the Week.

Student Life: What did you think about the New York University game, especially in the second half, and about how you guys are playing right now?
Janice Evans: We’re playing a lot better. We had a little rough patch when we hit the road two weekends in a row. Our shots are falling, and we’re getting off to better starts in games.

SL: How does this season, for you, compare to last season, and what kind of added responsibilities do you feel being a captain of this team?
JE: I definitely feel more responsibility for myself and my actions and for my teammates. Basketball-wise, it feels the same. I think we’re doing well. There’s always that sense of urgency seniors feel when they’re in their last year. We just want to win the UAA, get into the tournament, and work our way through there.

SL: You’re one of three seniors (with Stacey Niese and Zoë Unruh) who will be honored this Friday at Senior Night. What has it meant to you to be a part of this team and this group of seniors?
JE: I probably can’t even put it in words. Stacey and Zoë are two of my closest friends here, two of my roommates, and it’s just been a really special time these last four years to share with the two of them. It’s nice that the three of us stuck around, and it’s nice to be able to celebrate what we’ve done here.

SL: What kind of a relationship have you developed with head coach Nancy Fahey over these last four years?
JE: Coach Fahey is like a mom away from home. She looks out for you, keeps you in line if you’re doing something crazy. She’s an excellent mentor and an excellent coach. She’s a really great person outside of basketball. She’s done a lot of great things for people on this team and has helped all of us become strong women.

SL: Are there any pre-game rituals that you have?
JE: In the green room, Hannah Cusworth and I sing these songs, and at the end of one of the songs, we have this little dance-off, and we have to come up with a new dance every game, so I’m running out of ideas. I have to get creative.

Evans and the Bears face Case Western Reserve University at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Carnegie Mellon at 1 p.m. on Sunday in their last home games of the regular season.

Sophomore Dylan Richter drives past a Rochester defender on Feb. 5. Richter scored 12 points against Brandeis on Friday. (Cedric Xia | Student Life)

Revenge is a dish best served cold. But in a rematch against No. 21 Brandeis University, the No. 3 Washington University men’s basketball team was far from cold. Shooting a combined 56.7 percent from the field during this past weekend, the Bears grabbed two more conference wins.

“Offensively, we were in a slump for a little while,” sophomore Dylan Richter said. “I guess we all collectively decided to get that out of the way now, so we’ll be ready for tournament time. We knew it was going to come to us, so it was just a matter of time before everything started clicking again, and the past two weekends it has.”

Friday’s matchup at Brandeis gave the Red and Green a chance to avenge a Jan. 15 home loss. Graduate student Sean Wallis led the team with a career-high 29 points, while senior Aaron Thompson added 25.

“They’re a very good team, there’s no doubt about that, and we had to play a great game…in order to beat them,” Wallis said. “Scoring a career high was icing on the cake, but I was just happy to get out of there with a win.”

The Judges maintained a small lead early in the first half, before Wallis’ three-pointer tied the score at 16 with 12:33 to go. The Bears would lead for the rest of the game.

Thompson’s three-pointer gave the Bears a 12-point lead with little more than five minutes left in the first half. The lead would remain into halftime, with the Bears ahead 44-32 at halftime. In the first half alone, Wash. U. shot 66.7 percent from the field (18 of 27).

“A lot of [the success] has to do with good shot selection,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “Our kids have been executing the offense well, and we’ve been ending up getting the shots we’re very comfortable taking.”

While the shots continued to rain in the second half for the away team, Brandeis picked up on the offensive end as well, cutting the lead down to just four points with 12:25 left in the game. More long-range shooting, however, pushed the Bears back out to a 72-57 lead.

“Aaron Thompson and Sean Wallis have been playing outstandingly for the past few months, so teams really key in on them, which gives everyone else the opportunity to roam around a little bit more and get a little bit more open,” Richter said. Richter had 12 points in the game.

The Judges mustered another run late in the half, but the lead was too much to overcome. The Red and Green left Waltham, Mass., with a 92-82 win.

“You never want to lose, especially on your home court, so when they beat us there, we knew we had to turn around and beat them back for that,” Richter said.

The Bears showed much of the same offensive success in Sunday’s matchup against New York University. Thompson again scored 25 points, with junior Spencer Gay adding 16. Wallis had 13 points and seven assists.

The Bears never trailed against the Violets, tying only twice in the game: 2-2 with just a minute into the game, and 11-11 with 11:37 to go in the first half.

A five-point halftime lead exploded in the final 20 minutes of play. Three straight three-pointers from Thompson gave the Red and Green a 38-24 advantage in less than two minutes.

With 1:10 left, a layup from NYU sophomore Andy Stein cut what was once a 16-point lead down to just six. Wash. U., however, held on for the 71-63 win.

With this win, the Bears secured at least a tie for the conference championship. A win over Case Western Reserve University at home this Friday would clinch the Bears’ second straight University Athletic Association title.

“First of all, to be able to go through the UAA and have six of our seven road games completed and having won them all, I think that’s really big,” Edwards said. “You’ve got to win the UAA to be a legitimate contender for the national championship, or to get in the NCAA tournament, so that’s our goal.”

With the weekend victories, the Bears regained the No. 1 ranking in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

“[It’s] a great sign [for] so early in the year,” head coach Jeff Stiles said. “Last season, Davis got into the preliminary qualifying range late in the year and ended up falling two hundredths of a second short of going to the NCAA championship meet.”

Davis said, “More than anything, it’s nice to have that out of the way. Now I can focus more on working hard and trying to improve my seed.”

Preliminary qualifying in the men’s 55-meter hurdle is any time from 7.56 to 7.74 seconds. Anything below the 7.56 mark automatically qualifies for the NCAA indoor championship meet in March in Greencastle, Ind. Davis’ status as a preliminary qualifier means that if not enough athletes obtain automatic qualification, his time will be considered for competition.

Graduate student Pierre Hoppenot led a sweep in the men’s 55-meter dash (6.67), ahead of junior Tom Gulyas (6.74) and freshman Ivan Davis (6.93). Hoppenot took first in the 200-meter dash (22.87), while Davis placed second (23.14). Hoppenot was the only Washington University athlete with two first-place finishes.

The mile run helped the team earn points when the Bears took the top four spots. With a time of 4:31.66, sophomore Will Forrester, who was running the event for his first time collegiately, beat teammates senior Alden Black, sophomore Tucker Hartley and junior Kenny Fairleigh.

The women’s squad struggled in track events; senior Caitlin Hartsell finished one hundredth of a second short of winning the 200-meter dash. “[It was] disappointing to just miss catching another runner,” Hartsell said. Teammate and senior Molly Schlamb also achieved two top-three finishes; second in the 1,000-meter run and third in the 600-meter run.

The Lady Bears found more success in field events: Junior Moji Hassan took second in the shot put at 10.86 meters and third in the weight throw at 12.45 meters while senior Hana Damore finished second at 13.13 meters. Additionally, sophomore Katie Hered (3.20 meters) won the pole vault, while senior Allison Lee (2.60 meters) took third.

“This first meet is a kind of litmus test, and the key will be to get hot when it counts,” Stiles said.

Several first-time competitors had strong performances. Freshmen Anne Diaz-Arrastia, Ivan Davis (third in the 55-meter dash) and Tom Arnold (first in men’s shotput) all found their way into the top three.

Diaz-Arrastia won the triple jump by a solid 0.17 meters and took third in the long jump (4.77 m). “[They were] good confidence boosters more than anything else… and definitely a relief for a freshman wondering how we would adjust to college athletics,” she said.

Diaz-Arrastia stressed that these early successes should not let athletes get ahead of themselves. “It’s not nearly as impressive as the work we do in practice and will continue to do,” Diaz-Arrastia said. “We have a long season ahead of us and many more [achievements] to add to the list.”

Stiles said that the team’s performance was not a “surprise.”

“We were expecting the upperclassmen to do well, but we’re definitely excited about what we saw out of our younger competitors,” he said. “There’s a lot of reasons for us to be encouraged right now.”

The Bears continue their season at the Illinois College Snow Bird Open on Saturday in Jacksonville, Ill.

The Washington University men’s and women’s cross country teams placed 7th and 10th, respectively, at the NCAA Division III national championship meet Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio. (Joe Angeles | WUSTL Photo Services)

The men, entering the weekend meet in Cleveland unranked, placed seventh in their best finish in program history, while the women placed 10th.

The Lady Bears were led by junior Taryn Surtees with a time of 22:36 in the 5-kilometer race, which earned her 13th place overall and All-American honors for the second time in her career. She was followed by senior co-captain Molly Schlamb, who had a time of 23:07, earning her 35th overall. Behind her were junior Jessica Londeree (23:12, 39th place) and sophomore Elizabeth Phillips (24:11, 118th place).

“It was a challenging race,” Surtees said. “The conditions were less than ideal. The women’s team had a solid performance, but it wasn’t perfect.” The Red and Green improved on last year’s 12th place finish in their sixth straight year of running in the NCAA National Championship.

The men were led by sophomore Michael Burnstein with a time of 25:56, finishing in 16th place out of 220 runners in the 8-kilometer race. His performance garnered All-American honors. Burnstein was followed by junior Dave Spandorfer (26:30, 46th place), junior Kwin Keuter (26:41, 69th place) and sophomore Tucker Hartley (26:43, 72nd place).

“We never expected to get seventh. Our goal was just to land in the top 10, so we were blown away when we heard the results,” Burnstein said. This was the fifth time that the men have competed at the NCAA National Championships.

“The meet was incredible. I’ve never been so happy in my whole life,” Keuter said. “This season is proof that the Wash. U. men’s cross country team is one of the best in the country.”

For co-captain Molly Schlamb and the rest of the team’s seniors, the meet was bittersweet.

“I’m proud of the effort the women put into their races on such a tough course yesterday,” Schlamb said. “I’m sad that it was my last cross country race, but I was happy with my performance.”

Many runners are looking back on this season as a stepping stone for greater success in 2010.

“It was a good season and an important experience for our team. Next year we will return six of our top seven runners,” Surtees said. “We have a lot to look forward to.”

Others are focusing on training and making sure they’ll be ready for the winter. “I’m going to be training for some indoor races like the 5k until next season starts. I want to be in nationals again,” Burnstein said.

Most, however, are just happy to be able to relax finally. “Next year should be another awesome season,” Keuter said, “but for now I think we’re all content to bask in the glow of this season.”

Washington University's volleyball team captured their tenth national championship title with a 3-1 win over No. 1 Juniata College. The Bears celebrate their win in University Heights, Ohio. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — Time to put another banner up in the rafters. The Washington University women’s volleyball team is back on top.

On the grandest of all stages, the Bears shook off a slow start and defeated the Juniata College Eagles on Saturday (18-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-21) to claim the NCAA Division III National Championship at the DeCarlo Varsity Center at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.

“This is easily one of the greatest success stories I’ve ever been a part of,” head coach Rich Luenemann said.

The championship was the team’s 10th—the most of any school in Division III—and its second in the last three seasons.

“It doesn’t feel real,” senior co-captain Erin Albers said. “This is the best we could have possibly done.”

Fresh off of a thrilling five-set victory the previous day against Hope College, in which the Bears rallied from being down two sets to one, the team had one more strong performance in them. They finished the season at 34-4, with some noteworthy contests and victories along the way to the championship.

“I honestly can’t believe that any of this is happening,” junior co-captain Marya Kaminski said. Kaminski had her best game of the season with 15 kills and a .588 attack percentage. “I feel like I’m in a dream.”

But this contest, like the team’s 3-0 sweep over Juniata on Sept. 18, was far from easy.

Almost immediately in the first set, after a bounty of errors in the opening points, the team found itself on the wrong end of a 9-2 deficit and without either of its timeouts. Trailing by as much as eight points, the Bears rallied their way back and brought the score to 15-13. But they never got closer than that, and a service error ended an ugly first set in which the team hit only .108 percent with seven errors.

“We didn’t have great focus out there,” Luenemann said about the set. “We weren’t executing.”

Then the Red and Green started executing. After trading the first few points, the Bears went on a 7-1 run to go up 12-5 in the second set. Despite a number of service errors, the Bears held the lead throughout most of the set and looked to be in good shape up 20-14.

Slowly, Juniata chipped away and fought off three set points to tie the set at 24. Facing a must-win situation to avoid dropping to a perilous 2-0 hole in the match, sophomore Lauren Budde put down a kill—her fourth of the set—to put the Bears back at set point, and an attack error by Juniata tied the match at one set apiece.

Revitalized, the Bears came out in the third set and put on a show. After another even start with the teams tied at 9, the Bears slowly started to inch away from the Eagles and then pulled away at the end, as a five-point run behind sophomore Tricia Brandt’s serves and a kill by sophomore Kristen Thomas put Wash. U. within one set of the title.

Thomas and Kaminski both had five kills in the set, while freshman Marilee Fisher put up 15 assists to help spark the Bears’ run.

The match’s final set started unlike any of the other three—with the Bears taking an early lead. A long rally on the seventh point of the set ended with a kill by Budde—her 12th at that point—and gave the Bears a 4-3 lead that they never surrendered. Juniata came back and brought the lead to within a point on two early occasions—at 10-9 and 11-10—but the Bears responded with an 8-2 run to go up 19-12.

Fighting for their season, Juniata brought the set back to 22-18, forcing Luenemann to take a timeout. Wash. U. inched forward and came within a point. And finally, after avoiding the first match point and bringing the set to 24-21, Juniata’s Kristin Noetzel put the ensuing serve into the net.

That’s when the celebration began.

After a lengthy team celebration and an acknowledgment of the outstanding season Juniata had as well, the Bears were awarded their plaques individually. Three Bears were named to the All-Tournament Team: Thomas, freshman Kelly Pang and Budde, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2009 NCAA Championship with 93 kills and 87 digs.

Despite losing two of the team’s opening-day starters to injuries over the course of the year and despite being a very young team, the Bears were unable to be stopped by most teams this season.

“Maybe we aren’t the most talented, maybe we don’t have the biggest hitters, but we came out with the most heart,” Albers said.

Albers, along with fellow senior co-captain Laura Brazeal, was a key part of the senior leadership that held together a team comprised of largely freshmen and sophomores. After losing the national championship match to Juniata as freshmen three years ago, they became imperative members of the teams that have won twice since then.

“The team really came together at the end of the season, and we started off with great team chemistry from the beginning,” Brazeal said, “and that’s what made the season amazing for me.”

“Perhaps the best captains I’ve ever had,” Luenemann said. “Whatever you ask of a captain, they did.”

They have set in place the pieces for more title runs in the next few years. The likes of Pang, Fisher, Budde, Kaminski and Brandt will remain key parts of the team for at least another year each.

But for now, they’re going to celebrate what they have accomplished: bringing the title back to Wash. U.

“It’s surreal. It’s amazing,” Pang said. “I’m so proud of us.”